Monday, September 23, 2013

Mimic in Treasure Chest Form: Figure 35 of 265

This week I painted the Mimic figure that is disguised as a treasure chest. I began by soaking the figure in some dish soap to remove the mold release agent, and then rinsed it well. Next, I trimmed
a little off the bottom back of its monopod foot, as the figure leaned too far forward in my opinion, and I wanted it to stand more upright. Next, I tried to trim the flash from the figure's teeth as best I could. I then glued it to a black primed 1 inch fender washer, and mounted it on half a tongue depressor, for ease of painting, with a drop of white glue.
Remember, you can click any photo to see it larger.

I began by giving the chest a coat of very thinned Americana "Asphaltum" paint, so it would act more as a stain than an opaque coating. When dry, I painted the parts of the figure that were beginning to reveal themselves as the monster with Aleene's "Deep Khaki" paint.

Next I painted the gums and tongue with GW "Tanned Flesh", then the teeth with Americana "Buttermilk, and finally the bottom of the chest's interior with Ceramcoat "14k Gold". I then painted the hinges and handles with Ceramcoat "Bronze", and lastly the claws with GW "Fortress Gray".

After everything had dried, I gave the whole figure a wash with GW "Devlan Mud" wash. When this dried I went back and added highlights to the teeth with, first, the "Buttermilk" again, and then plain white with a bit of the "Buttermilk" mixed in. The tongue and gums I highlighted with just the "Tanned Flesh" The monster bits I highlighted with Aleene's "Dusty Khaki". And, the claws were highlighted with Americana "Dove Grey". The metals I highlighted with just their base colors. Finally, I add two eyes with GW "Blood Red", giving each a little white highlight.

Lastly, I painted the washer with Americana "Mississippi Mud", which is a nice neutral grayish-tan; so it wouldn't look too out of place in a dungeon, tavern, or outdoors (breaking the 'habitat' rules, I know, but why limit my imagination :) ).

When all was thoroughly dry, I gave everything a coat of Ceramcoat "Matte Varnish" and left it to dry overnight. I then sprayed it with Testor's "Dullcoat".

I included this shot as it gives a nice view of the claws emerging from the chest's handle, which I think is a nice little touch on this neat sculpt.

I'm very pleased with this figure. My only complaint is the mold line running across the top teeth, making it very problematic to trim flash from them, and you can still see hints of it on the finished product. But overall, a very satisfactory monster, and easy to paint.

Thanks! Well, to answer your question, the easy figures are easy to paint, and the hard figures are very very hard. What I mean is, that simple basic figures like this one, the rats, skeletons, and orcs for example are easy to do quick paint jobs on that look really good; but the more detailed figures, like the elf paladin I did were a royal pain in the backside. The reason for this is that it's so very hard to see details on the pure white figures. One of the reasons I've been avoiding doing a lot of the humanoid figures. I think I am going to start giving figures like these a pre ink wash before painting to help outline the detail. It will be an interesting experiment.

No, I'm talking about figures I don't prime. I only prime figures I want to have a black base coat. Any figure I want to have a white base I don't prime. But I find the white is so bright that details aren't visible under my painting light. Any figure I black prime I don't have trouble seeing the detail. I was hoping a black wash would create outlines around the details on the white Bones material, making them more visible. Then using these black outlines as guides, I would paint the figure.

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About Me

I've been a gamer since my high school days in the 70's. I'm married to Jennifer, and reside in Maryland. I am co-author, along with Buck Surdu, of "GASLIGHT" and several of its supplements, and "Look, Sarge, No Charts: WWII", and "LSNC: ACW". I also wrote the "Thunder & Plunder"; half of our Pirate rules, "Blood & Swash"
I am a founding member of the HAWKs wargames club.